Since taking the reins of the Buckeyes program, Meyer has sounded almost as though he’s not totally gung-ho when it comes to one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. That’s probably because he isn’t. Unless Michigan stands in OSU’s way in one of those fancy playoff games that come our way beginning in 2014, The Game will never be the biggest game in Meyer’s imagination.

If I could ask Meyer one more question on National Signing Day, it wouldn’t be about how this or that high school stud runs and catches. I’d go with this:

Would you rather go unbeaten vs. Brady Hoke or Nick Saban for the next 10 years?

Not sure how he’d answer. Pretty sure what the truth would be, though.

He wants to be the guy who takes Saban down a notch and ends the SEC’s streak of national championships.

And, with apologies to Michigan, that’s just plain a bigger matter than The Game. It’s bigger than the Big Ten. The dragon at the top of the mountain Meyer’s scaling incredibly fast? It’s the monstrosity of excellence that is Alabama. More to the point: It’s Saban.

Predictably, Meyer, on the heels of a 12-0 debut season, just roped in a stellar recruiting class; by all accounts, it’s top-five material, right up there (or close) with what Alabama corralled.

What really stands out about it? The Buckeyes are going to have a number of freshmen making big contributions in the fall, and most of them won’t be from Ohio. That gets at another reason Meyer doesn’t pay lip service to building the proverbial fence around his state: He knows he must take on the likes of Alabama in recruiting like never before to have any shot whatsoever at winning a national title.

He was at his best this time around as Ohio State flipped the dynamic Texan Dontre Wilson—who Meyer believes has Percy Harvin-type potential—from Oregon.

Even better, he was at his best as Ohio State took on Alabama for five-star safety Vonn Bell (Georgia) and won.

Meyer was on top of his game on Wednesday when describing the effects of scholarship reductions, stemming from misdeeds during the Jim Tressel era, that dropped the Buckeyes’ allotment from 85 to 82: “It’s like a toothache,” he said, a constant pain throughout the recruiting process.

Well, boo-hoo. Meyer has a lot more good than bad happening on that front.

“I’m very pleased with where we’re at,” he acknowledged.

And very determined about where they’re headed: straight for the dragon. It’s up a ways yet, but close enough that Meyer can’t take his eyes off it.